Stuck in a Doll
by Xmarksthespot
Summary: It was his curiousity that got the better of him; he opened the scroll, and that led him into a whole new world. One where he has paws, a ribbon strapped around his neck, and the inability to blink. It was also Sakura's bedroom - on permanent HIATUS
1. Prologue

A/N: A project I've been thinking about starting for a while now, and decided to type up the first chapter today. Yes, I am planning on completing this. Eventually.  
I'd also like to point out that if you've read my other stories, and are dying for an update, here's the thing: My memory stick which keeps **all** of my fanfics, stopped working for some reason. I sort of, kind of, have a backup, except it's not as updated as I would like. Until I sort things out again, and rewrite some of the chapters I've been working on, there won't be any updates.

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

**-**

**-**

Prologue.

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She bought it the day after Christmas – the teddy bear. There was something about the glow in its dark, ebony eyes, and the sapphire blue ribbon that securely wrapped around its neck, which lured her into the store's front.

"I'll take that one," Sakura, now seventeen, pointed at the display case. Her emerald eyes glistened, as the cashier carefully wrapped the teddy bear into its box.

"Thank you!" She said, paying for it with her recently received paycheck. Afterward, rose lips curled into a smile, as she turned around and headed for her apartment.

She felt jubilant, since she had never owned an actual teddy bear before; her parents never spent money on something so _trivial_. So even though Sakura never felt like she needed one growing up, the near-adult woman bought one anyway.

She placed the bear on the shelf of the headboard, which sat next to her alarm clock.

"I wonder if I should give it a name," Sakura thought out loud. The girl laid on her bed, with hands that cupped her face. She stared directly at the bear, similar to when she originally saw it in the store's display case.

"Ino calls her stuff monkey _Bobo_, and Hinata's bunny is _Chocolate_..." Sakura yawned, "And I don't think Tenten has one, though if she does, it's probably named after some guy who died tragically in war, or after a weapon of some sort." The girl quickly released a sigh, before yawning again.

Shrugging off the names, and exhausted from work, Sakura soon fell asleep.

XxXx

The dark world was suddenly reunited with light, as Sasuke Uchiha opened his eyes. Immediately, he knew he wasn't where he was supposed to be. After all, he fell asleep in a cave in the middle of the woods. It was supposed to be bumpy, with rocks poking at his sides, and a thinly sewed piece of cloth draping over him.

However, all he could see was a bright color of sunshine yellow plastered across his view; it blinded him. He inwardly cursed at his current location, raising one of his arms to rub his tired eyes.

_That_ was when his body grew stiff. He rubbed his eyes once more to feel the texture of his fingertips. He followed the action by raising his other arm, and turning his head to the side, only to see that the porcelain material, which had replaced his arm, loosely sewn onto the area that was supposed to be his shoulder.

Sasuke wasn't sure if he should get up or not, somewhat nervous of what he might see. Instead, he looked at his hands again – or whatever that was in place of them – noting the soft fur on the fingerless paw.

Glancing at his surroundings, he found only textbooks on a large desk, a giant, opened closet with several empty hangers, and a laundry basket that laid on the floor with a plethora of clothes piled in, and all around it. Quickly, Sasuke realized that everything around him, even the object that resembled an alarm clock, was much larger than average.

Finally, he decided to push himself up, wobbling on his first few steps. He could only assume that if his hands were stubby, and fingerless, then his toes must resemble them. Either way, the Uchiha never bothered to lower his head to see. Rather, he was more determined on escaping the vacant room, and get his body back.

Slowly, he walked on the wooden surface. Eventually, he had become used to walking, and began jumping onto other surfaces. Sasuke had already formulated a plan: jump onto the clock to give him enough height so that he could reach for the purple lamp. From there, he could reach for the desk and slide down its leg to escape through the large door.

Of course, Sasuke attempted to stealthily leap onto the alarm clock, but unfortunately, the weight he put into his left leg pushed the large button, causing music to turn on at high volume.

_Crap_, he thought, _I must've triggered an alarm._ He looked directly ahead at the door, expecting many ninjas to come in armed. But before he could do anything about it, he felt an earthquake from beneath him.

Holding onto the alarm clock, Sasuke tried to keep tight as the earthquake worsened. But the paws wouldn't hold, and his body fell off the edge.

_Damn it_, he cursed, extending his arm to hold onto the edge, but never succeeded.

"Oh, it's just you."

The feminine voice pierced through his body, and the rumbling of the ground lessened by the time his body landed on a soft terrain. He tried to adjust his vision, but a cloth of some sort blurred it, and he couldn't control his view.

Still, the voice bothered him. He was sure that he's heard it before. _An enemy? Maybe they work for Sound_, he reasoned.

Suddenly, the cloth was removed, and a recognizable face appeared: Sakura Haruno's.

"How did you fall off the shelf?"

He could see the pink headed girl giving a large grin, and it was _huge_. Her face was mere inches away from his body, but the heavy blankets pushed him down; it was impossible to escape the trap.

In his peripheral vision, he could see the giant getting up from her resting position.

"Shoot, that's the hospital," she said when she checked her pager.

Sasuke's body was then tugged, and placed onto the cherry oak desk. He was utterly confused, and shocked at the turn of events. What was Sakura doing here, and why was she so... big? He wasn't sure if it was safe enough to move, since it didn't seem like the girl was planning on doing anything.

He slowly watched, as she scrambled around in the room.

Hastily, she turned around the moment she hit the front door. "I'll come up with a name for you eventually," she said – was she talking to him? Her eyes darted upwards, clearly muttering to herself. "I wonder if I should ask Ino what a good name would be... I mean, she never told me it was this hard to name a _bear_."

-

-

TBC

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Please comment! :D


	2. Chapter 1

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

Disclaimer: For this and the previous chapter, I do not own.

Chapter 1.

"No, no, no," he murmured to himself, pacing back and forth on the desk. The only pleasant part of this event was the fact that he no longer felt the hunger he had felt just hours before he had woke in this mess. He cursed to himself several times before extending his arms out, trying to see if he could break loose of this _genjutsu_. He failed.

Again, he muttered incoherent curses, only to stumble on his feet, and fall on his face. Sasuke pushed himself back up with rage, ignoring the numbing pain on his nose. He wasn't sure if he was actually doing it, but he felt his teeth clench together.

His head jerked from side to side, in search for something. "Where the hell is that stupid mirror of hers?" He growled, recalling a large pink vanity that sat across from Sakura's bed when they were twelve. Clearly, he wanted to confirm it himself, that he was, indeed, a bear – the paws, and lack of height weren't enough to convince him. Eventually, he managed to find a small mirror that laid in a powdery case by the edge of the desk. He propped it open, ignoring the red blush that smudged his arms, and stared at his reflection.

He stayed silent, adjusting the mirror to study his face at different angles. The small, dark orbs, the sewn in nose were clearly visible, and it seemed that he could control his mouth, as it was frowning, rather than the happy-go-lucky smiles bears usually don on their faces. The ribbon around him was just nauseating to look at, though it didn't occur to him that said ribbon was the _only_ piece of material he was wearing.

Taking in a breath of deep air, he yelled, "Fuc – " He held his voice the moment his ears picked up noise coming from outside the room. Turning around, he dropped the makeup case, and studied the front door.

It wasn't until he heard the footsteps become clearer that he fell back into position, laying on the table. After all, it didn't seem like Sakura was aware of his presence. He knew that she was a smart individual, and would have locked him up if she knew it was him.

In the corner of his eyes, he could see the door open, revealing an angry Sakura; meanwhile, he wondered how easy it would be to escape her house.

"No, dad, I'm not having any parties. Yes, I'm fine living here by myself. Look, I'm _fine_," Sakura said (it was still pretty loud to Sasuke), and she stepped towards her desk, growing larger and larger to the Uchiha. "Anyway, I'm going to go now. You, and your wife have a safe trip now. Bye." The moment she hung up, she let out a frustrating scream.

_Annoying_, Sasuke told himself, but continued to stare at the girl who continued to yell to herself. It was the first time he ever heard her swear, but it wasn't like any of this surprised him.

To his disbelief, however, the phone she was just talking to came darting at him, as the kunoichi threw it over in his direction. It had just missed his leg. Sasuke could feel his heart rate climb the moment the large object hit the wall, and fell into pieces.

He saw her fall onto her bed, face first, but promptly ignored whatever she did next. Climbing back up, he steadily walked, trying to make slow movements. However, his legs weren't as strong as they used to be, so each move forced him to slip a little. Suddenly, the phone rang again, almost making him jump – everything was twice as loud as they should be. He quickly fell back down onto the table again; he didn't think that the phone would still work. And the sudden fall stung the side of his face.

Of course, it wasn't her cell phone that was ringing this time. Instead, it was her home phone. The device continued to ring, however, and the medic never bothered to pick it up.

_Pick it up, pick it up,_ Sasuke inwardly commanded. He couldn't stand the noise that sat three inches from his ears, which he angrily realized, were at the top of his head now. But his old teammate never bothered, and a high pitched noise followed.

"Hey Sakura-chan!" The message said through speaker phone – Sasuke tried desperately not to raise his arms to cover his ears. Despite the many years spent apart, there was a part of him that knew the blond would never quiet down. "I'm going over to Ichiraku's for some ramen. Come and join me when you can! I promise I'll pay this time. See you!"

Before Sasuke could make any sudden movement, he heard yet another frustrated growl.

"Urgh," Sakura yelled to herself, "I swear, if I have another bowl of ramen –" She cut herself off before she could say anything else. Afterward, she got up from her bed, slowly walking over to the desk.

Sasuke could hear her picking up the damaged phone and tossing it aside. She then grabbed something else – possibly her home phone – and clicked a few buttons before dropping that back down onto the table as well. That was when he felt eyes on him. He had always been good at knowing when he was being stared at. After all, he had spent most of his life being stared at by the majority of the female population in this village.

"How did you get so dirty?"

The space between his face, and the desk grew further, very quickly, when Sakura picked him up by the waist. His body shifted, and turned around, so that he could face her. From his position, he could clearly see the dark circles around her eyes, and the split ends of her hair. And if he could, then he would widen his eyes. Sakura had raised her one hand, and it looked like it was targeting him, and his limbs.

Immediately calculating his actions, the Uchiha reasoned between making a run for it at that moment, or staying put; he ended up choosing the latter. He couldn't shut his eyes, or move his view away from her, nor could he clench his fists, and tell her to back off. But when Sakura's fingers gently tugged onto his arm, and rubbed it, he felt a sudden relief that she wasn't holding onto his body tightly.

She handled the material on his hands softly, trying to remove the blush, he realized. He could see her frown.

Sasuke was then tossed into the air, feeling weightlessness just before he landed in a basket – her laundry basket. _What is she doing?_ He asked himself, but unfortunately, he knew the answer to his own question.

"Might as well do laundry now," he heard her say.

He officially hated that day. Sasuke could feel his body being tossed, and turned as Sakura piled more of her clothes onto him. Thankfully, the load didn't smell as bad as he had thought, but there were a lot of clothes, which weighed him down. He felt suffocated, and could feel himself being lifted, as Sakura carried the basket downstairs to the laundry room.

_I have to get out of here_ now_. _With all of the strength he could muster in his new form, he crawled his way through the clothes. The more he did it, the more ease it felt. Of course, it wasn't because he was growing stronger with each task, but because Sakura was pulling the weight off of him, and he was next.

"Crap!" He yelled as he flew into the machine, hitting the bottom with a thud. He wasn't sure if Sakura heard him talk, but could see the pile in the machine grow. Getting up from his position, he began to run to the end. His legs felt heavy, however, as water began to soak through.

It was just a few seconds before Sakura would shut the lid. Sasuke knew that if he could breathe, talk, and feel pain, then he most certainly would drown in the machine. Focusing on the tiny opened area up ahead, the Uchiha pushed his legs forward, just making it out of the machine in time.

Making it through the gap, and now flying into the air, Sasuke bent his knees, and safely landed on the ground. He planned to make a run for it next. Little did he know, however, Sakura was facing directly at him.

"Oh my gosh!"

He cursed at his luck.

XxXx

Sakura stared at the stuff animal that fell – _jumped_ – onto the floor. The stuff animal that she had bought, but for some unknown reason, was covered in blush. The stuff animal that she threw into the laundry machine, but then jumped out again.

Immediately, she grabbed a weapon that was strapped to her belt, and held it up to the motionless bear. As much as it made her feel idiotic, she also knew what she saw. "W-what are you?" She called out to it; it didn't respond.

Without much thought, she grabbed the bear, and left the room. She headed for her apartment, flinging the door open, and launching it onto the couch. "Talk," she commanded it, but nothing happened. She kneeled down next to the bear, breathing heavily, and staring attentively into its dark eyes.

"Great, just great," Sakura muttered, "they've finally worked me so hard, I'm talking to a _bear_." Following that, she stood, marching for the kitchen. Turning the sink on, she decided to wash half of the pile of dishes she had stacked up.

Her motions were rough, as she never liked cleaning the dishes. Besides, there was so much food stuck on the bowls – it's been days since she touched her kitchen. But within ten minutes, she dropped all the dishes back into the sink. The kunoichi left the water running, but decided to walk back into her living room.

"I caught you!" She screamed, eyes widened at the bear standing by the edge of the couch. She wiped her wet hands onto the hem of her shorts, and grabbed a weapon from her pouch. "Now tell me who you are - or what you are!"

She shivered the moment she saw its head turn to face her. It felt like a horror movie, of some sort. Maybe one where Naruto would drag her to see: _Curse of the Killer Doll_, or something unoriginal, just so that she would scream midway, and he would make a move by wrapping his arms around her.

But there was no Naruto this time. It was just her, and the bear.

She stood there, watching as the bear stared back at her. She noticed how hesitant its moves were, possibly deciding on whether to run or stay. Finally, she decided to make the first move. Raising her hand up, she launched the kunai towards it.

Much to her surprised, the bear easily dodged it, and the kunoichi ended up running after it, as it made it's way to her bedroom. Luckily for her, its legs were still soaked with water, so running was very difficult. Her lips were pulled into a smirk, the moment the bear stopped its tracks. It was a dead end.

Pulling out another kunai, Sakura raised her arm to aim. "Got you now," she muttered, throwing it towards the stuff animal.

Again, it missed, but not by much. Seeing this, the girl quickly pulled out another weapon from her pouch, this time, a shuriken. She aimed it at the bear again, and grinned when it hits the leg.

"Damn it!" The bear screamed, trying to suppress the pain, and trying to pull itself free. However, the weapon secured his position to the floor.

Sakura's eyes widened at the voice. Taking a step closer, she studied the bear's face carefully, recalling the voice that had just escaped its lips. It was much deeper than she remembered, so it took a while before she concluded that it was, in fact, who she thought it was.

"...Sasuke-kun?"

TBC

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A/N: Hey guys, thanks so much for the reviews. I'll try to get the updates ASAP _(as soon as possible_. **Not** next week. _As soon as _I can.) _,_ but my schedule is a little hectic from now until...basically the end of the school year.

P.S. I'm trying to get into the habit of writing longer chapters, and even though this one is longer than the last, I know that its still pretty short. I'll definitely try to double the length for next chapter.

Please comment. :)


	3. Chapter 2

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

Disclaimer: I do not own.

-

-

Chapter 2.

-

"S-Sasuke-kun?" She repeated the name, refusing to let the toy leave her sight. Her brows furrowed, as she allowed her knees to drop so that she was kneeling next to the struggling bear; its voice rang through her head repetitively, and she couldn't let herself forget it. But after a momentary lapse, she shook her head – it couldn't be him.

But she still fixated on its capability to speak. Sakura extended her nervous arms, fingers just inches away from the doll, who refused to give up on its escape. Her lips slowly parted, breathing in fresh air to keep herself from hyperventilating.

"S-speak," she hesitantly commanded, but the bear didn't listen; its attention merely focused on its injured leg. Green eyes wearily trailed over to it, noticing the cotton bits falling out of the limb.

Finally realizing the pain it was in, Sakura held the bear with one hand, while the other carefully took the shuriken out. She felt empathy for it when a small, yet painful gasp escaped from the bear's mouth.

Carefully, Sakura brought it up towards her face, so that her intense, apple-green eyes could study her bear's ebony eyes – she flinched when she realized the sparkle she had noted before was gone, leaving two dull orbs in place.

Slowly, her sight trailed down below where her fingers had hold, and towards the stuff animal's knees. Threads of cotton poked out of the tear, and the cream coloured fur were loosened by the weapon. She looked back up to its face again.

"Can you talk – please?" She paused for a moment, rubbing her fingers gently on the damaged leg. After a long silence, she continued, "Does it hurt?"

For a few minutes, the kunoichi had thought about giving up, shaking her head at her insanity – it was a _bear_ she was talking to! Nevertheless, her peripheral vision caught the bear's hesitant actions, followed by a shrug.

Her brows furrowed, as she stared deeper into the bear's face. "It... doesn't hurt?" She guessed, hoping for more reassurance. Her face leaned in a little more, only to gasp when she saw its head move back away from her's.

Somewhat saddened by its distant moves, Sakura got up, though kept the bear in her hands. She made her way to the kitchen where she sprinkled some water on the blush covered arm to clean it, and turned the tap off.

She forced the bear to sit down next to her. Whenever it tired to move, the girl would place her palm gently onto its back, which prevented it from doing anything. She would also frown every once in a while, as she prepared, because it still refused to speak.

"Hold still," she told the doll, grabbing it and placing it on her lap. She steadily held a needle in her hand, but before it could reach the bear's leg, said toy flinched.

"What the hell?!" The voice accidentally said, and the owner of those words quickly jumped – or attempted to, at least – from Sakura's lap, only to be caught by her before it could touch air at the bottom of its feet.

She noted its intense stare back at her, and played its voice in her head, like before; she wasn't as confident in who it was. Instead of worrying about it though, Sakura's expression afterwards was mixed with concern, and amusement. She let out a giggle, which clearly annoyed the bear even more.

"It's not going to hurt," she assured, "it's like getting stitches at the hospital – _I hope_ – and if you've ever gotten them." Before she knew it, she started rambling to herself, wondering if it would be similar to getting stitches; she knew that the process was the same, but considering her patient this time was a bear, would there be any differences?

Sakura looked back down, realizing the bear held its leg towards her, entrusting her with it. Smiling, the girl placed it back onto her lap, and carefully pinned the needle through its leg, satisfied that not only did the bear not try to move, or run away, but that the thread she had matched with the fur.

As she wove the needle through the leg, Sakura decided to speak. "So, apparently you're a boy," she casually stated. She knew that the bear could see her amusing grin, but only grinned wider to annoy it. "It's a shame, cause I was planning on naming you _Rose Petal_, or _Princess Cutie-Pie_," she teased, and saw its frustrated expression.

Upon finishing the last stitch, Sakura spoke up again, "So if you don't want me to call you that, why don't you tell me your real name?"

It didn't speak.

Vexed, Sakura quickly tied the final knot, and held the bear up to her face. "Look, I know you can talk, so why don't you?!" She started shaking it violently, and growled when the bear held up its arms to cover its view from her. Disappointed that the bear refused to admit who it really was, Sakura frowned. "Fine," she concluded, "Rose Petal, it is."

Eventually, the woman let out a sigh in defeat, getting up with the bear still in her grasp and setting it onto her desk. She gazed at it –_ him_ – worryingly, and with a softer tone, said, "See if you can walk."

She watched as he stuck his bottom up in the air first, using his arms to push himself up, and couldn't help but smile – the way he got up was similar to a toddler's! He wobbled on his feet for several seconds before kicking one leg out to take the first step.

Quickly, she held out her hand, so that when he fell, he wouldn't hit the hard table.

"Damn it!" He cursed again.

Sakura frowned. "Seriously," she yelled, pushing the bear back up onto his feet. "Do you _only_ know how to curse?" Again, she was ignored, so the young woman decided to let it go. "Try again," she said, as her fingers hesitantly went back and forth, unsure if she should hold onto him or not. Nevertheless, her hands were pushed back by the bear itself.

The medic watched as the bear stumbled on his feet and fell on his face again.

"Fu –"

"If you're planning to swear, I'm just going to sew your mouth shut."

Again, she watched the bear push himself back up, and insisted on helping him in the process, but was once again, pushed away. She frowned as she never liked being tossed aside like some useless person.

Suddenly, her pager went off, and the jade eyes trailed towards it. "Darn, it's the hospital," she muttered to herself. Quickly grabbing her things, Sakura headed straight for the bedroom window. She aggressively shut it tight, locking it, and pulled the blinds down just in case.

"It's too bad you don't have thumbs. Otherwise, you'd be able to get through this," she mused. "And just so you know, blinds are a safety hazard to children because they get tangled in the knots. The same thing will happen to you too, if you try to move this." She jokingly pretended to be a mime, holding out an imaginary knotted rope, and slipping her head through the hole. Following that, she pretended to pull the end of the rope and visually showed the circumstances if he were to get caught – it would be like a suicide case.

When the bear made no response to her joke, she merely winked at it. Sakura made sure the bear was standing upright. "Good luck, Rose Petal," she teased and shut her bedroom door.

XxXx

_Annoying_, he thought.

Sasuke was sure that he heard Sakura jamming a chair against the door, making sure that there would be no way he could escape. His face lowered, and onyx eyes narrowed towards his stitched up leg. Even before he received the injury, he could barely walk properly, and now with the new wound, he wasn't sure how he would manage.

"At least it doesn't sting anymore," he muttered, recalling the feeling of torn flesh when the shuriken first ripped through the false leg.

Refusing to give up, he pushed himself again, taking a step slowly with his _healthier_ leg, and then with the other. He sighed in relief, since he didn't fall on his face again. Despite his accomplishment, the toy quickly slipped and fell off the wooden desk and onto the carpeted floor – he was actually thankful that it wasn't hardwood.

Getting up, his eyes aimed forward. Curious as to what he was seeing, he leaned a little forward, reaching out one arm to pull out what he was seeing underneath the bed; it was a picture of him as a twelve year old genin.

But it wasn't something he was planning on celebrating, as there were multiple pin holes that marred his photograph's face. Sasuke studied the picture for a few minutes before looking back down underneath Sakura's bed. He found several other pictures of him, gulping and feeling more nervous with each one, and noted that they were either torn or had similar holes that ripped through the faces of each one.

Now that he was a little terrified of the owner of the apartment, he wasn't sure whether he should continue on searching underneath her bed, or even consider the fact that it might be best to tell her who he was.

He shook his head. Sasuke refused to be worried, especially of Sakura. He continued to look underneath the bed and found multiple pictures. However, they weren't of him. Rather, they were of Naruto, and Kakashi.

Similarly, they had pinned holes through them, but clearly not as much as the one on his own photos. He used both of his hands and managed to flip to the back of the one photo of him. In bolded, black marker, it wrote: _JERK_.

Sasuke let out a sigh, dropping the pictures back down onto the floor. He investigated further to find a dart board and some darts.

"So this is what Sakura does when she gets mad at people."

Now that he was freaked out by what lurked under the bed, the Uchiha pushed himself back up, getting used to the walking; his leg still ached though.

Throughout that day, he managed to walk, and even run throughout her bedroom. Sasuke would often think about revealing his identity to his ex-teammate, possibly giving him a greater chance of escaping the current form he was now residing in. He frowned at the thought of what might be happening with his real body at that time – has someone found him? Was he being eaten by wild animals? Had some random girl discover him in his state of peaceful slumber and decided to molest him?

He shivered at the thought.

Unfortunately, he also knew what would happen to him if Konoha were to find his body, which they most likely would if he were to tell Sakura who he was.

Extending his arms, he stared at the paws in silence. Clearly, he knew that being forced back in Konoha, facing criminal charges and years worth being detained in prison would be a lot better than trapped inside a children's toy. Unless, that is, Sakura decided to kill him right then and there inside the bear. After all, she obviously had weapons on her, as well as the dart board under her bed.

Nonetheless, this lead to another theory: would Sasuke return to his original body if he were to die in the bear's body? After a moment's thought, he decided not to take the chance.

"What if..." Sasuke's head popped back up, noting that Team 7's photo was still framed and sitting on her night stand. "What if Sakura still likes me?" His mouth slowly parted as he imagined the once obsessed fangirl clinging onto his bear-like form, and refusing to let him go, making him prisoner for as long as she lived.

Sasuke knew that _that_ theory was most plausible, so he (as fast as he could) made his way to the end of her bed. Grabbing onto her blanket, he managed to pull himself up onto the mattress.

"I have to get out of here... Before Sakura tries to feed me candy, or touch me, or-or," he started listing reasons through a panicked voice, climbing over the headboard and setting his eyes on the window blinds. "Or try to talk to me!"

But as Sakura warned him earlier, the arrogant man ended up getting caught in the curtain's knots, resulting him swinging around in midair.

"Damn, damn, damn," he swore, not bothering to lower his voice, or stop his continuous cursing rampage. Swinging his arms back and forth, Sasuke tried to sway his way out of the rope, but it didn't work.

For the next amount of time, what felt like hours, Sasuke merely stayed still, hovering in the air and waiting for Sakura to come back. Most of the time, he felt like Naruto, recalling the time when the blond would get caught in Kakashi's most simple traps.

Suddenly, there was someone rummaging on the other side of the wall. He jerked his head to the side, so that he could see right side up, and saw the bedroom door open, as well as Sakura. He could see that Sakura tiredly gazed back at him in his ridiculous state, and smiling afterward.

She only grew bigger, as she approached him, silently loosening the knots and holding onto him securely before she placed him back down gently on her shelf.

"I told you you'd get caught in the ropes," she faintly said. Following that, the exhausted girl dropped onto her bed as she did just that morning.

Despite the dark room, Sasuke could still make his way through the room. He curiously jumped from the shelf and onto the pillow which Sakura didn't use. He knew that she was aware of his presence standing right next to her face, but didn't understand why she didn't make a move.

Being so close to the girl, he could hear her breaths as strong wind-like air currents, as well as sounds of sobs.

He took another step closer, realizing that he had gotten the hang of walking again. Sasuke didn't understand why Sakura was crying. In fact, he never understood why she cried most times. However, the lump in the pit of his gut forced him to move closer, and he extended a hand, which patted her head.

Sasuke could feel her smile.

"I guess I was wrong then," the girl said, and it was as if she wasn't trying to annoy or ring through his ears, since her voice was fairly soft. "You couldn't be Sasuke," she concluded.

He was taken back immediately, shocked that a mere gesture could convince her otherwise that he was not who she thought he was.

An earthquake-like rumble knocked the balance off his feet as the medic got up. "Sorry," she sniffed, "I guess I was just really tired. Anyway, are you hungry?" She asked, removing herself from the mattress. "I'll make something for you– "

"Sakura," he said out loud. His eyes penetrated through the darkness, knowing that emerald ones were staring straight back in shock. There was something that motivated him to do these actions, and truly, he wasn't sure if he was going to regret it or not; he wasn't used to being so unsure about his actions before, but he continued anyway, "It's me. Sasuke."

-

-

TBC

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews guys!

P.S. I'm personally not liking Rose Petal as a name cause it doesn't really suit the appearance of the bear, so any suggestions? Maybe something that is similar to Sasuke's name, maybe by the first syllable? I'm considering _Saranghae_ which is Korean for "I love you" I believe.


	4. Chapter 3

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Chapter 3.

"It's me. Sasuke."

The voice echoed in her ears for almost ten minutes before she snapped out of her daze (but that's also because Sasuke impatiently went up to her and nudged her leg). In a trance-like state, she slowly turned back to the edge of her room to turn on her bedroom lights. She took another glance at the bear who claimed to be the boy she fell in love with when she was thirteen, and whose body that it was inhibiting was the doll she fell in love with at the store window.

Her brows furrowed, and her eyes darted back and forth, between the toy and the picture frame she had of Team 7. The only resemblance between the two were their faired skin (and fur), and the piece of clothing's colour, which were both navy blue. Then it struck her: "Oh my God," she almost yelled, and then forcefully turned her head to the side. "You're naked."

She could hear him scoff at her comment, as if it were ridiculous.

"I'm in a _bear_, Sakura. It's not like you can see any actual part of me."

She hesitantly turned back only to stare at him wordlessly, as if trying to comprehend his words and break them apart to find their meaning. Following that, Sakura dipped her head, a half a nod, but the expression on her face clearly spelled out shock. Nevertheless, before she could allow _him_ to speak again, she dropped herself onto the floor to pull something out; she needed further examination.

Sakura held the photograph, marred with pinned holes, of Sasuke against the bear. She compared and contrasted them, like she did before, trying to find similarities between the stoic, _human_ Sasuke, and the furry object before her, claiming to the be the aforementioned human.

True, there was a part of her that felt that it _was _Sasuke, but the fact that the beat openly admitted it made everything that more questionable – Sasuke wouldn't have done that, would he? Due to some suspicion, Sakura shook her head slightly, exhausted.

"So..." she breathed, pulling the word out longer in hopes of giving herself time to think. She rubbed her temples with her left hand, while lowering herself down further so that she was at eye level with it – him. "You," she paused, listening to her words in her mind first. "You are Sasuke? Uchiha? My ex-teammate? The dumbass?"

In response to her last description, Sakura saw the bear shooting her a heavy glare, which ultimately confirmed it.

"I'm not a dumbass," he scoffed.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Oh, I'm sorry. The _jackass_? The guy who betrayed his home village? Attacked and almost _killed_ his best friend? Left me on a bench?" Before she could let him rebuttal, the kunoichi turned herself around, and headed for her belongings.

"Hn, what are you doing?"

She heard him call out, but ignored him. Instead, she dug into her closet in search of an item. Her eyes scanned the messy area, making a quick note to clean it later. But soon, due to its size, she managed to find the empty hamster cage. Sakura quickly turned back to face the bear sitting on her bed and with a sly smile forming on her lips, she held the cage out. "This," she spat, "is _your_ new home."

XxXx

Before he knew it, he was held captive against his own wishes, inside an _animal_ cage.

"Let me out of here, Sakura!" He tried to twist his arms around the wires as much as they could, but the lack of fingers prevented him from having a good grip. But when he glanced up, he could only see her backside as she slowly made her way out of the room; she didn't say anything, tell him where she was going or what she was going to do; she just left.

As much as the body would let him, he frowned. Following that, he turned around, examining the room once more – besides, what else was there to do? Having no thumbs prevented him from opening the cage door.

_At least the cage is clean_, Sasuke reasoned, and his eyes fell to the surface he was standing on; it was a smooth red, slippery almost, as he found his own feet sliding several times as he wandered through the large cage – he vaguely remembered Sakura owning several pets within this cage, as well as the multicolored tunnels for them to wander through. He silently thanked her for not including any of the hamster accessories in the cage for him at the moment.

After sometime though, Sasuke grew impatient, wondering when Sakura was coming back. He attempted once more, to summon all of his strength and pull apart the wires of the cage, but it only proved to be meaningless. He snarled at the sight of his limbs, arms attached only by a thread to his shoulders, and legs were pinned on either side of his hips – he felt like they could fall off any minute now.

Suddenly, he heard a soft click, and when he looked up, he could see Sakura shadowing over him. She had a bowl in her hand.

"Hn," he muttered under his breath, watching as Sakura lowered herself down so that she sat next to his cage. His feet slowly backed away the more she grew closer to him, extending her hands to the cage, and slowly moving the bar to the side so that the cage door would open.

"Are you hungry?" She questioned.

Sasuke merely stared at the bowl in her hands, then back at her. "I'm a bear, Sakura. I doubt I can eat." After all, he's been in her house for all of these hours, and he had yet to feel hungry. Nevertheless, his body moved on its own accord, and he found himself inhaling the scent coming from the bowl – it seemed as though his new nose had a heightened sense of smell. The food seemed tempting, but Sasuke realized it was only alluring through his mind, and it was his stomach that failed to respond.

"Are you sure?"

With the sound of Sakura's voice, Sasuke glanced up again and sighed. "Aa, I can't eat." He dropped his legs, sitting down by the cage entrance, and watched as Sakura raised her arm again, this time to deliver the food into her mouth.

He reminded himself how annoying Sakura was, even when she was silent; she was only staring at him, like a kunoichi staring at her captive on a mission (she wouldn't let him out of her sights, even if he was sitting in one spot). Nevertheless, Sasuke knew she wouldn't be silent for long, because as soon as she finished chewing, her mouth opened to ask him the big question:

"So how did you get stuck in a bear anyway, Sasuke-kun?" She filled her mouth with food again afterwards, suggesting that it was his turn to speak.

He didn't say anything, however, and waited for her, like the old days, for her to push the words out of him.

"Well?" She said with her mouth still full – it seemed like she didn't care much for manners, especially around him, or maybe it was because of Naruto's influence?

Sasuke grunted, leaning the bear body back so that it rested against the metallic wires. Of course, the fur acted like a cushion, so the unevenness never bothered him. He faced directly at her desk, which he had been resting on just a few hours prior to that moment.

If he could, Sasuke knew he would've had his eyes shut to aid him in his remembering. Instead, he just let silence fill the air while he wondered how he arrived in Sakura's room himself. He decided to scanned Sakura's room, allowing him to match many of the colors to his memories. The greyness of her book led him to recall the cavern, where his original body is inhabiting at the very moment – or so he hoped. Then the blue-grey umbrella on the side of the room caught his attention – it was raining that day.

"Sasuke-kun?" Her (loud) voice interrupted his thoughts, and he turned back to her.

Green. The grassy tint in her eyes matched the moss on the cave walls, the weeds that bordered along the outside, and the never ending forest that he was in. However, as Sasuke continued to stare into her worrying eyes, the ruby red of one of her shirts, hanging on a hook where his peripheral vision could catch it, stood out most.

"I was in a forest – there was a cave there – somewhere on the border of the Fire Country," he adjusted his head so that the clothes resting on the hooks came into full view. "I had a few scrolls in my possession. There was one with a red string attached to it." His voice trailed off, and he found himself unable to continue with the reminiscent.

"I see," Sakura murmured, just finishing her dinner.

Sasuke turned back to her, and moved his head upwards when Sakura pushed herself from the floor. "Don't tell the Hokage," he commanded, before the girl could do anything further. His stance was like it was when he was human – tall, rigid – but the face clearly stomped away any dominance he was trying to show.

Sakura frowned. "And why not? This is serious! How else are you going to escape – I doubt it'll wear off on its own, you know," she paused to take a breather, "And what about your real body? You do realize that a body without its soul is just what people like Orochimaru is looking for."

The bear shrugged in response. "Orochimaru's dead, Sakura. And you're not going to tell the Hokage, because I'll most likely be interrogated for information. If they believe that I'm not needed, killing me in this situation would be the easiest way."

Sasuke received a growl from her, but before she could speak, he said, "You have access to the Hokage's office don't you? You have the resources in the hospital too. All you have to do is try to find information on the scroll I used, and find a way to reverse it."

The pink haired girl bit her lip, and Sasuke hoped that this was a sign she would agree to his words. Truthfully, he had no idea if the Hokage would truly kill him on the spot, but the method he suggested would be the only way he could escape without having to come back to Konoha – not that he would tell Sakura that.

He took a step out of the cage. "Just don't tell anyone yet, Sakura. At least, not until you are sure that they won't kill me. Until then, you're just going to have to help me on your own." He added a bit of reassurance to his tone, knowing that it'll only be a matter of time before she agreed.

It wasn't until there was a knock on her apartment door that Sasuke inwardly smirk, seeing her sigh in defeat; it meant she accepted his words.

"Fine," she muttered, ignoring the heavy knocking on her door. "But that just means that by living in my house, you'll be living under my rules." She placed her free hand on her hips, equally prepared to be the dominant figure in the room. "You will _always_ stay in this room unless I say so, and you will be in that cage when I'm away or at night when I'm asleep," she pointed to the hamster cage, "and by no means will you act on your own. Like I said, my house, my rules. I don't care if you think my methods are stupid, or however long it takes me to find anymore information on your condition, but you _will_ stay put. Got it?"

Sasuke stood in silence, hesitating to rub the large ears on the top – Sakura really needed to control her voice. Plus, the slamming on the doors outside was really irritating (who is it, anyway?). Finally, Sasuke said, "Fine."

But before Sakura could do anything, her apartment door broke open, along with the loudest voice that could basically shatter anybody's – human or bear – ear drums.

"SAKURA-CHAN!"

Sasuke knew that if he was in his own body, he would've _almost_ fallen back, but due to his situation, the grip on his feet weren't as great, so he _did_ fall back. "Damn it," he muttered, swearing once more.

"Hide, hide," Sakura said, using her one hand to demonstrate a swaying motion underneath her bed, which Sasuke followed.

Luckily, he was just the perfect size, fitting underneath the bed. It was dark, all for aline of light that allowed Sasuke to see Sakura's feet. Just then, he saw an extra pair of legs running into the bedroom.

"Sakura-chan, are you hurt? Are you okay? I heard voices, and no one opened the door for me!"

Sasuke sighed silently in disbelief; it seemed as though the blond was the only one who didn't change around here. Not that he could help it, but he continued to listen to the conversation, hearing that Naruto was inviting the medic out to the ramen shop.

"Oh, sorry, Naruto. I was on the phone with my dad and I already ate dinner. I'll accompany you if you want," Sakura giggled. "But I think there's something else on your mind, right?"

Naruto chuckled. "Heh, you're always so smart, Sakrua-chan. Anyway, I got these two tickets from Ayame at Ichiraku's, and they're for the new movie coming out– "

Sasuke could see Naruto's shadow waving about to flaunt the pieces of paper in the air. Suddenly, he heard Sakura laugh again.

"And you want me to tell you whether Hinata will like them or not?"

"Yeah, um. Well, do you think she will? Cause the last time we went, she sort of fainted on me." He let out a nervous chuckle.

"Of course. And don't worry. She'll get over her fainting spells eventually."

"Really? Thanks, Sakura-chan! I – opps"

That was when Sasuke saw the pair of tickets float down and towards the end of the bed where he was hiding. They were just a few inches from him. Following that, he could feel the vibrations of Naruto's body falling to the floor and before he knew it, the blond's face was clear in his view, and so were his hands; blue eyes were staring directly at him.

"Guess I'm just really nervous," the blond explained, picking up the tickets from the end of the bed, just missing Sasuke's leg by a hair – the Uchiha tried to shift himself further back without Naruto noticing anything. However, Sasuke's actions were all for nothing as Naruto's eyebrows raised, seeing the glint in the orbs on Sasuke's face. His tanned hands lifted again to scoop up the tickets, along with the thing that caught his attention.

"Hey, Sakura-chan. Why is there a bear under your bed?"

TBC

* * *

A/N: You know, I would've forgotten about this story if it weren't for you guys - thanks so much for the reminders.

Again, I'll try to update as soon as I can (though I'm finding myself stuck in a non-humourous situation) and please review!


	5. Chapter 4

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

Disclaimer: I don't own.

Chapter 4.

"Sakura-chan?" Naruto said curiously.

Before she replied, Sakura watched as Naruto held the bear by the leg, unaware of the discomfort he was causing for the soul resting within the tiny body. And then suddenly, Naruto was holding the bear up high so that its face would be across from his own and even did as much as waving the bear around.

"This is yours right – ow! Sakura-chan, it _bit _me!" The blond yelled, flicking his arm into the air and releasing his hold on the stuff animal; Sakura quickly caught it.

The rosette, holding the bear close to her body, chuckled nervously. "Yes, thanks for getting it out, Naruto. I was looking for it earlier." She, as natural as she could, started giggling again as she rubbed the bear's face along her cheek (she knew she was going to hear about this later). Then, she added (to avoid conversation about whatever pain Naruto was in), "Isn't _she _adorable? I call her Rose Petal!"

Nevertheless, the blond was fixated on his index finger as Naruto's brows became knitted. "Sakura-chan, that _thing_ bit me! I'm sure of it! And look at its face. It looks like it's one of those mistakes that the people at the toy company make – like when an arm is attached to the head or when you squeeze it and some obscene sentence comes out instead of the _You're _so_ cool!_ phrase." He exhibited a disgusted face while he pointed to the bear's head. More so, it looked like he was tempted to pull out a weapon. "Are you sure it's safe?"

Her smile immediately dropped. "Are you calling my bear ugly, Naruto?" She had to press her lips together to prevent herself from laughing at the indirect insults Naruto was making. Secretly amused, Sakura tried to keep a straight and serious face while saying, "I'll have you know, this was the cutest bear at the store." She wasn't lying. "And yes, I'm sure it's safe. I think you're just imagining things."

Baffled, Naruto glared at the bear again. "But it's _frowning_. What kind of messed up bear –"

"_I_, the owner of this bear, think it's very..." she paused, pupils rolling from one side to the other and she bit her lip while trying to find the word on the tip of her tongue, "_distinct_. It's not the same as the other bears," she said, only to receive a scoff from her friend.

"Pfft, that's probably because that thing and its face were bullied by the other bears so _it bit them_." Naruto, still holding tightly onto the tickets he had planned to show Hinata later, held out his injured finger again in front of Sakura's face – not that it did anything really as there were no injuries visible.

Sakura looked down at the toy held in her hand – the frown had stayed intact, she assumed so that Naruto wouldn't be so suspicious if the emotion had changed, or because Sasuke was actually pissed off. Either way, she was angry at him for causing her to be in this situation with Naruto, so she lifted him up and shoved his face towards Naruto's face so that both were uncomfortable with the distance between them. "Look at it, Naruto. It's a _bear_; it doesn't have teeth. You probably scratched yourself from a piece of plastic wire from the tag or something.

Noting that this conversation was taking too long, Sakura subtly glanced over at her alarm clock. "Oh, look at the time! Shouldn't you go get Hinata?" She smiled brightly as the blond hurriedly ran around the room in a hurry, realizing the time.

"Thanks for reminding me, Sakura-chan! See you," he said.

Of course, Sakura didn't fail to notice the evil eye the blond gave to the stuff animal that was still firmly held by her. When the door clicked, she held that hand up high so that she could see Sasuke eye to eye.

"What in the world are you thinking, biting Naruto?" She sighed in disappointment at the two's immaturity, "Even as a bear, you two are still fighting," she spoke in her indoor voice, but knew that with the close proximity and Sasuke's new, large ears, it would seem as if she was yelling. "How can you even hurt him anyway?" She chose this time to use her fingers to open up the small bear mouth. "You don't even have teeth!"

With quick instincts, Sakura pulled her fingers out before Sasuke could snap his mouth shut on them. "Hn, you don't need fingernails to pinch a person," he replied logically, but kept his frown in place, which, in Sakura's opinion, made the bear less cute.

"Well, because of you, I lost track of time. I completely forgot about putting my clothes into the drier, which is going to, at least, take another hour, followed by the actual folding and hanging the clothes away," she complained, stepping over her hamster cage and pulled a belt from a clothes rack. Before Sasuke could say anything, she (rather expertly) secured the belt around his body, slightly amused by his constant squirming.

"What the hell are you doing?" He growled.

She shrugged in response. "Keeping you from escaping," she promptly ignored him when he reminded her he wasn't going to escape, and added, "I saw this on a horror movie once, and since the victim couldn't get free before the guy chopped his limbs off, I figured it would be hard for you too." She grinned mischievously. "Plus, it's handier to carry you around like this."

After, she tossed him into the air and caught him with her other arm, like he was a juggling ball. She quickly made her way down the stairs of her apartment and into the laundry room, constantly shushing the Uchiha from making any noises – complaints – in case anybody heard.

However, by the time they had reached the room, the drier had just finished its cycle; Sakura realized they were her clothes soon after she discovered a sticky note.

She could tell Sasuke was squirming, not only to get free from the belt, but to see what was written on the note, so she decided to read it out loud:

"Hey, I hope you don't mind, but my sister moved your clothes to the drier so that she could wash her clothes. I knew they were yours because I recognized your laundry basket, which you left here," Sakura's voice trailed off as she adjusted her vision only to see that her plum coloured basket was sitting on the side table; she remembered that she had left it there after she discovered her stuffed bear was a living creature.

"Hn, someone knows what your laundry basket looks like?"

The rosette lowered her head so that she could see Sasuke when she was speaking, but could feel her face warming up. "Yeah... he's –" Sakura could swear that she saw Sasuke's head perk upwards when she stated the gender, "– just this guy... er, neighbour in my apartment." Avoiding his stare, Sakura opened the door to the drier to pull out her clothes and toss them into her basket, still feeling Sasuke's stare on her.

Finally, she snapped at him, "What? Did you think you were the only guy I've liked these past few years?"

When he didn't reply, Sakura went straight back to pulling her clothes out. When she was done, she lightly grabbed onto the bear and placed him gently on her clean shirts – she made sure any other types of clothing were placed at the very bottom of the basket.

Midway through climbing the stairs though, she heard a reply.

"So he's your boyfriend?"

To be honest to herself, Sakura felt very amused, taking this statement as an act of jealousy – that she had actually moved on from the Uchiha and was no longer a fan girl of his – so she pressed her lips together to hide the smirk. She was glad that he remained silent (probably still waiting for an answer), because it wasn't until she reached her apartment that she had spoken.

"No. We're just," she struggled for words as she recalled her neighbour, "friends, I guess." Avoiding any other facts about her life, Sakura closed the door to her bedroom on the way in as she placed the laundry basket on her bed. Before freeing Sasuke from the belt, she stepped over to the closet to grab several hangers and then tossing them – just barely missing Sasuke – on her mattress.

She knew that Sasuke was taking advantage of his freedom, probably walking around her room and getting used to his new legs (not that he needed any more practice, with all of the running he did today). Rather, she tried to forget that he was there, since she didn't like it when all of her stuff was laid out in the open when any other guys were there.

Sakura hummed a tune to herself, hanging up the shirts and pants. At the same time as well, she was planning the next day, which included work and the weekly, if not daily, trips to the ramen stand with Naruto.

"Damn," she muttered to herself, which caught the attention of the bear.

"What?" He asked.

Her head bent back as her eyes clothes, murmuring incoherent sentences to herself. After scurrying through her closet to find more hangers, she said, "I forgot to call my mother." She didn't bother to explain anything else, and went back to ignoring his presence, which promptly failed, as he leapt onto her bed.

"You actually wear this stuff?" He spoke loud enough for her to hear, though most likely, accidentally.

Sakura's lips twitched, recalling a time when Naruto had went through her closet and had said the _exact_ same thing and immediately afterwards, pointed it out to Kakashi who (more subtly) mentioned that her selection of clothing was somewhat different than what she usually wore to training or work. Then, when she noticed that Sasuke was tempted to actually pick through her clothes, possibly to insult her taste even further, she shouted, "Shut up. It's not like your outfits are any better."

XxXx

Sasuke smirked as he scanned through the outfits he found were either too mature or too immature for his ex-teammate – it was as if she bought everything she picked from a random rack. He found it even more amusing that she got defensive with her clothing to even insult his taste, not that he really cared.

It also didn't really bother him that Sakura had liked another man. It was just the fact that she would actually admit it so casually to him. Truthfully though, Sasuke hoped that Sakura would admit her feelings to her neighbour _after_ they found a way for him to leave this current body of his; that way, he wouldn't have to deal with a rejected Sakura.

Suddenly, he noticed Sakura in the corner of his eye, pausing her actions and then shifting her attention to him, nervously blurting out words from her mouth.

"Uh, Sasuke-kun, do you... think you could," she stopped speaking and used her fingers to demonstrate a twirling action.

Confused, Sasuke studied her startled expression, then allowed his sight to fall towards the laundry basket. The moment he realized that what he was seeing were her undergarments, his mouth almost dropped open, but it didn't. Rather, he muttered, "Hn," and turned around gracefully, and even jumped off the bed so that both persons would feel comfortable.

He decided to investigate the room again, noting that the clock on the shelf of her headboard read that it was almost half past nine. Switching his view to Sakura, who had just finished putting away her clothes, he assumed that there was going to be more interrogation between them, only to feel somewhat relieved when he saw Sakura fall down onto her bed.

She must have been really tired, he realized, as he could hear her snore lightly; he wasn't sure if it was because of his new ears that he could hear her snores and couldn't think far back enough to try to remember if she snored as a genin. Letting out a sigh of exhaustion, he also noticed that he too, was tired, and was glad that Sakura fell asleep before he did, and had forgotten about her rule of being locked away in a cage while she slept.

Of course, this led him to another question: could he sleep? Sure, he felt tired, but the body he was in didn't have eyelids to shut off his vision.

Testing this ability, the Uchiha slowly marched around the room, trying to find a comfortable place to lay down on – if he couldn't sleep, he could at least relax. Surely he wasn't going to rest in the animal cage, nor was he going to rest on Sakura's bed, so he settled for a – he assumed – comfortable bag that she had tossed aside.

The bear arms made him feel like he was double jointed, as they bent back (more so than when he was human) so he could rest on them like a pillow without much discomfort. He realized soon after though, in the midst of trying to fall asleep, that Sakura had forgotten to turn off the lights and reasoned that it might've been because of that, that he had difficulty sleeping.

Restlessly turning to lay on his side, said girl's pink hair came into view, covering the part of her face that peaked above the edge of the mattress where Sasuke could see it.

Breathing calmly, he stared at her, trying to understand her character now, compared to the past when they were on the same team. When he first saw her today, she was a wreck, cursing at the phone conversations she had, and angrily breaking her cell phone in the process. However, soon after she came back from the hospital, she was crying to herself, only to hide her loneliness when she discovered his identity, filling it with rage and sincerity at the same time.

All of this really didn't really intrigue him though, as he was aware that Sakura always let her emotions get the best of her; it was a weakness that apparently, she never got rid of.

Next, he turned so that he faced the ceiling, in absolute disgust at the bright yellow colour of the walls, but had to admit, compared to her old room, which he had been in many times as a genin picking her up for training with Naruto, it was satisfactory. After all, a person can only handle so much pink in their lifetime. Of course, she had been living with her parents at the time, and where they were now, or why Sakura was living in an apartment by herself, Sasuke didn't know or cared.

It was after that last thought that Sasuke's vision completely blackened. For the next several hours, but what seemed like days, Sasuke could feel himself, lighter than usual, flying over a vast valley of land, with the forest covering the majority of it. With the appearance of the odd shaped mountains on his left, he recognized it as the area he was located before he found himself at Sakura's house.

It was a dream, Sasuke believed, looking down to see that he had fingers, rather than paws. But before he could do anything else, which included the attempt of finding his body somewhere, his human hands disappeared, and there was a loud rumbling sound, almost like an earthquake. A vibrant blue took over his view, and Sasuke cursed the moment he realized he had woken up.

He especially didn't enjoy the fact that, unlike when he was human, which allowed him to slowly let his eyes be accustomed to light with his slow awakening, waking up as a bear meant he would constantly have to be instantly introduced to a bright flash of light when he woke up.

Now that he was awake though, he could still feel the rumbling beneath him, and the constant movement of the walls around him. Not only that, but he could hear heavy pants, as well as curses in a voice that he recognize.

"I'm late, I'm late!" Sakura muttered to herself.

It was then that Sasuke realized that, due to being late, Sakura must've missed the fact that he was in her bag when she left, or probably packed him along with everything else without realizing. This also meant that he was, for the first time in several years, in the streets of Konoha, which also meant that it wouldn't be wise to alert Sakura of his presence in the bag at that very moment.

So he waited, judging by the open area of her bag, for the blue sky to disappear and he could see a dull coloured ceiling, which he assumed belonged to the hospital where Sakura worked. Of course, he waited until the room she entered was in complete silence (he never knew that the hospital could be so loud) that he peaked his head out of the opened area – he didn't want Sakura to leave him there for days or even suffocate him, after all.

"Sakura," he called, smirking in amusement when she jumped several feet backwards from her cubby. That was when he realized Sakura was, in fact, topless, only wearing a bra and holding a top close to her body. Without any further thought, he budged his head to the side so he couldn't see her.

When she did finish dressing into her hospital uniform, she made her way over to him, and turned her head towards hers. "What the heck are you doing here?" She whispered, not wanting to catch attention of anybody passing by.

Before he could allow her to assume anything, he muttered, "I was sleeping on your bag, and you packed me with your stuff!" He could hear her sigh.

"You're lucky that I'm late; no one's around at this time," Sakura glanced at the wall clock, "which reminds me, because of you, I'm even more late! Stay in here or else. I'll come back after a few hours."

Sasuke (unaware of she could see it or not) rolled his eyes. "Hn, obviously I'm going to stay here."

Her stern face remained though. "I mean it. Don't even go into anyone else's cubby. Stay in mine, got it? And don't look at the stuff in my purse either – they're personal. Just act like a bear, and stay still in the very back corner, behind my stuff." She wouldn't let him answer before she positioned him in the very back, and readjusted her bag so that it would be enough to hide him from anyone who entered the room; then, she left.

Now situating in complete silence, Sasuke leaned back. He wished he could close his eyes to meditate, as he often did when he was in his human form, but decided that this semidarkness would have to do.

Suddenly, he heard the door open. Doing at what he does best, Sasuke remained still, waiting for the moment the door opened for the person to leave again. Finally, the door did move, and even though he originally believed that the person had left, Sasuke, along with his heightened sense of hearing, could tell that there were still footsteps within the room.

He wasn't sure what they were doing, whoever they were, but it seemed as though they were rummaging through some things – was it another medic going through their belongings? He assumed this to be true, as he heard the sounds of snack wrappers opening. However, the sounds began to grow louder as the person approached.

That was when the bag Sakura had placed in front of him had moved, and a small hand grabbed onto Sasuke and he could finally see that the person was definitely no medic. Instead, it was a small little girl, whose grin was larger than Sakura's.

"Cool, a bear! Now I have someone to play with!"

Sasuke hated his life.

TBC

* * *

A/N: I'd just like to say thank you to all of those who reviewed. However, I have some sad news: back to school day is coming up. And to those of you who've read my past fics, you all know that I rarely update when it comes to school. Well, this year is different (I hope). I aim to update this story _at least once a month_ (unless I state otherwise due to some unforeseen circumstances).

My bigger goal in all of this is to actually make it so that these two characters actually _fall in love, _because, let's face it: I fail as a romance author. To be honest, looking back in all of my stories, I don't think I've ever made it so that the characters fall in love with one another. Usually, I write it so that they _were already in love_, so I don't have to deal with the whole "Oh my god, I think I've just fallen in love with whoever...". This really frustrates me, especially looking at my recent story (which I think many of you have read), My Pretend Boyfriend, where my original goal for that was for the two to fall in love through the process of being pretend boy/girlfriends, which of course, I backed out and made it so that they liked each other beforehand.

By saying this, I sincerely hope that you guys will follow along with me throughout the process of this story and give me plenty of feedback, especially when it comes to the romance parts. I'm planning for a slow development for this story, and the fact that every chapter follows Sakura's POV for one half and Sasuke's POV for the other half makes it more complicated - Sasuke's POV mostly.

Again, I will try to write the next chapter as soon as possible (hopefully before school starts) and update sometime in September.

P.S. If you want to know how far along I am of writing a certain chapter of either this story or any other story, visit my profile! I'll usually have an estimate percentage.


	6. Chapter 5

**Stuck in a Doll**

**By: Xmarksthespot**

Disclaimer: I do not own.

Chapter 5.

Sasuke felt like he was going to vomit. He was unaware of how much time had actually past since he was held captive by who he assumed – judging by the outfit she wore – to be a young patient at the hospital. But after being cradled back and forth like a baby and then being tossed into the air, only to land on the floor harshly – he was lucky that he held his tongue from revealing how much pain he was in from the fall – he felt extremely nauseous and bruised.

Not only that, but the girl had managed to stain his arm with whatever she had been eating earlier in the medics' locker room, which left a irritating smell. The fact that the girl smelled like she hadn't had a bath for a while mixed with the scent of hospital medication didn't help Sasuke either.

Soon after he was taken from the room, a worried nurse had found his captor, and he was taken to an area where the sick kids were held; the girl holding onto him immediately targeted for the playpen.

Subtly, he looked around, hoping to find any pink haired medics, but proved to be difficult since the young girl had turned him over to face her and her toothless grin; she seemed unhappy.

"Why you not smiling?" She asked him in a childlike manner, as if expecting a reply. When he didn't respond, she shook him.

Sasuke, with his mouth naturally emotionless, was horrified when the marker (and who knows what else) stained fingers poked at either side of his cheeks, massaging them upwards so that the Uchiha was forced to smile.

_I need to find an escape route!_ He growled inwardly, feeling the numbing pain on both sides of his face; he was definitely unaccustomed to this facial expression.

"Yay, you're smiling now!"

Sasuke could feel her release her hold onto his cheeks when the girl turned around, and instinctively reversed his forced smile.

For that brief moment, he felt relief as he watched the little girl lift herself up from the floor, but before he could even attempt at an escape, he heard the girl say (to him), "Wanna play House?"

Of course, the Uchiha had never actually played _House_ before, having spent most of his childhood either training or plotting revenge, but he was once famous around the parks, and he vaguely remembered several children trotting up to him and asked if he would like to join. He also recalled many of the playacting phrases, such as –

The little girl, interrupting his reminiscing, suddenly grabbed him and stuffed him into a toy wagon.

"You're going to be the daddy!" She told him.

He could feel spit flying from the girl's mouth, raining on the top of his head. However, it wasn't until the young patient pulled out another doll from the playhouse – face smeared with an adult's lipstick and hair all chopped up with a preschooler's scissors – that Sasuke realized that he was placed in a cruel Hell.

Again, he struggled to be free when the young girl turned her head – probably to collect more torture devices.

"She's going to be the mommy!"

The girl remained facing away from him, to choose a dress for her doll, so Sasuke used both of his bear arms to push himself off of the wagon. He extended his strides, noting the fence of the playpen growing over the horizon; it was multicolored. Luckily, the border around the playpen had the traditional fence look, with crisscrosses and big enough gaps for Sasuke to fit through, rather than finding a way to jump over it.

He was just a foot away from his escape though when the ground he stood on rumbled; he knew the girl was behind him. Knowing that it would blow his cover if this child saw him move, he was forced to fall flat on his face again, frozen in the eyes of the young girl who chased after him.

"Mommy just made dinner for you, daddy!" The girl spat – literally, with saliva and all – out as she picked Sasuke from the ground, ignorant of how he disappeared from the original location to near the ends of the kids' center.

He was soon dropped onto a kiddie-sized plastic chair, which was then pushed closer to a plastic table where half a granola bar laid.

"Eat it!" The girl commanded.

Sasuke's view of the snack grew closer when the girl pushed his face towards the granola bar. The whiff of stale chocolate entered his nostrils, but Sasuke could also feel the pinch on the nape of his neck tighten – she was unconsciously choking him.

He knew that at this point, he would have to shake her loose – what's the harm of revealing himself to a child anyway? Children were, after all, susceptible to believe anything.

He felt bruises all over the back of his body, especially where her fingers held him. Inwardly, Sasuke planned to raise his arms to try to pull the young patient's hand away from him, but the lack of oxygen prevented him from doing so as his arms were too numb.

"Mei?" A voice behind them (thankfully) interrupted his strangulation.

Sasuke recognized the voice immediately, sensing a feeling of relief and satisfaction that he could now be taken out of Hell. But before he could turn his own head to reunite with his ex-teammate, the young girl lifted him from the plastic chair; despite being an experienced ninja, he felt lightheaded from the quick movement.

"Doctor Hawoono!" Clearly, she mispronounced the name.

Her voice pierced through Sasuke's eardrums, just as it had throughout the entire day when she spoke to him, but this time, left an ache in his ears due to the closeness.

Sasuke wanted to rub the back of his neck, hoping to sooth away the pain that still lingered. He also displayed his dissatisfaction to Sakura through a frown, only to grow angrier when he saw her smile (not particularly to him though).

"Hello, Mei," Sakura smiled, "How are you today?"

The Uchiha felt the urge to plug his ears with his arms, but resisted. Instead, he inwardly growled at Sakura for prolonging his escape.

"I'm good, Dr. Hawoono! How 'bout your's?" Her saliva, again, fell onto Sasuke's head (he felt extremely grossed out at this point).

Sasuke saw Sakura's apologetic face, as she said, "I'm good, Mei. Thank you for asking." She lowered herself down after she stepped over the playpen so that she was at eye level, just a few feet away from Sasuke.

"Now about that bear..." She paused, though it was obvious that Mei didn't understand her implications. "Can you tell me where you got it? I swear, I left the exact same bear in my bag, but now it's missing." Exaggeratedly, Sakura displayed a saddened face. "I really miss that bear – it was my favorite bear in the whole entire world! I loved it more than anything!"

Sasuke couldn't help but notice the word was in past tense.

Slowly inching his face upwards, he could see the guilt-ridden young girl.

"Sorry, Dr. Hawoono... I- I's hungry, so I went to go find food – other doctors ate yummy foods from a room and I went to room and I found a bear!" Suddenly, Sasuke was lifted from the girl's chest and towards Sakura's face. "But we're _bestest_ best friends now. Can't I play with it, Dr. Hawoono? Pretty please?" She stretched out the word.

_Don't agree with her, damn it!_ Sasuke glared at the medic in front of him, brows arched through pity and adoration for the young patient. "Get me out. _Now_," he mouthed the words to Sakura, though he wasn't sure if she was able to read his lips.

Sakura sighed. "But Mei..."

Sasuke was suddenly tugged back by Mei, though.

"We're playing House. The daddy can't leave the mommy!"

Sasuke's head jerked towards Sakura when Mei was distracted with the other doll. Never had he pleaded for help and although he wasn't planning on begging Sakura or anything, he knew he needed it.

Startlingly, Sakura's face had a flash of hope.

"But what if the daddy has to go on a mission? An awesome ninja mission so he can save mommy from the bad guys?" Sakura asked Mei, causing Sasuke to stare at her in confusion.

The green eyes shot up as if she was in deep thought – Sasuke was afraid of what idea might be lurking in her head. Sakura grinned mischievously, and lightly pulled onto Sasuke's one hand. "How about we make them promise each other that he'll return after the mission, Mei? Now how can we prove that they love each other _so_ much that he will definitely come back to the hospital to visit you?"

Sasuke's other arm was puled in the opposite direction of Sakura as Mei held him closer to her.

"Um... A wedding!" The girl yelled out.

"Great idea! You decorate the bride and I'll make sure the groom is ready, okay?"

Finally, Mei agreed, letting go of Sasuke and handing the his bear body to Sakura who firmly, but lightly held onto him.

When she had toddled to her other doll, Sasuke sighed. "Let's go," he muttered. He felt his spine tingle in fear when Sakura shook her head. "What do you mean _no_?" He growled, waving his arms in the air to show how crazed he found the hospital to be.

Her eyes widened to show her seriousness. "Well I promised a wedding, didn't I? I can't break a promise to a patient, especially when she's going to cry about it," Sakura whispered back, standing up after so that she could head towards the girl.

"Okay, let's begin the ceremony!".

Sasuke felt ignored by Sakura, who controlled his movements with her fingers – he was glad that she didn't choke him like the girl did. Instead, she had gently wrapped her fingers around his waist, and used her other hand to control his arms (even though he resisted the actions, her forced movements, though soft, were still overpowering him).

During this process, he kept himself from smirking, as he listened to Sakura's attempt at a low, manly voice to talk for him.

"I take thee to be my lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, till death do us part," Sakura said in her man voice. "And now I must protect you," she waved Sasuke's arm into the air proudly, "and go off on my mission!"

But much to Sasuke's dislike, Mei resisted. "But the kiss! They have to kiss!"

That was when Sasuke felt Sakura slowly push his face towards the gruesome doll's face, and without control, his face was connected to the lipstick stained face – his body tensed up and he felt even more nauseous than before. Not only did the messy blond hair get into his face, but it smelled just as bad as the girl's hands. However, another part of him was glad because now, Sakura could take him back to her house and – his thoughts were interrupted.

"Wait!" Mei's voice rang again, "Momma says that after a boy and a girl get married, they have a special night where they sleep on the same bed and –"

Sasuke thanked Sakura for stopping the girl from finishing her sentence.

"Um, we'll do that after his mission, okay? Anyway, he has to go see Tsunade-sama now for his mission. He'll come back, um, let's say Friday. Okay? He'll definitely come back before you leave the hospital."

After their goodbyes, Sasuke felt secured by Sakura's hands even as she ran through the hospital hallways with speed he didn't know she had. He soon noticed after that he was back in the medics' locker room where Sakura's cubby looked like it had been robbed; she quickly pulled out her backpack, and hesitated putting him in.

"I'm not going back there on Friday," he coldly stated loud enough for Sakura to hear, but she ignored him. Rather, she seemed to be more focus on going home than communicating like she usually did.

He was being held tighter, unlike earlier in the hospital. And on their back to her house, he also noticed that she wasn't daring enough to even release a finger or put him away from her sight.

What used to be a comprehendible face was now emotionless, a mirror of his own facial expression. Sakura showed no signs of anger, nor did she portray the same vibrance as before when she was with his captor; that face immediately fell the moment they left the sight of other medical professionals and patients.

It even stayed the same way, as Sakura carried him into her home, heading straight for the washroom. Because of the way she held him, Sasuke couldn't help but notice the lack of change in her emotion.

Soon enough though, he realized that not only was she was finally showing some feeling on her face, though frustrated, but she was also attempting to pull off the bow from his neck.

"I hope it's not glued or sewed on," she muttered to herself.

Sasuke stared at her curiously. "What are you doing?"

"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm giving you a bath."

XxXx

She eventually managed to pull off the navy blue ribbon from his neck and tossed it aside. Her nose twitched at the recognizable smell, knowing exactly whose food Mei stole from in the locker room.

Getting a Q-tip and then running it under some warm water, she turned towards Sasuke. "May I?" She held it towards his arm, and waited until he extended his arm towards her before she started massaging it over the stains. The white cotton on the end of the stick soon changed into a brownish colour.

Disliking the silence, Sakura took exactly two minutes to decide what to say. "I'm probably going to go to the store later. I promised Mei that I'd see her Friday with you, so that leaves us three days to find another bear like you – though I'm probably going to have to settle for a different bear," she rambled, not caring whether the Uchiha was listening or not. "I mean, you were pretty expensive – well, not _you_ specifically," she chuckled to herself as she switched the Q-tip end around and focused on his other arm.

She heard the ever-so silent Uchiha mutter a monosyllabic word. The girl continued to calmly clean the mess off of his fur. Despite her outer appearance though, she could still feel her palms grow clammy, and the weight of her head increase, causing a dizzying effect; too much had happened that day and it was beginning to stress her out. But she suppressed the feelings of anxiety and instead, watched Sasuke stare blankly at the counter top; it seemed like he didn't mind what she was doing much.

She tossed the dirty Q-tip aside and grabbed another one, repeating the same process on his cheeks. Again, she tried not to rub so hard as she spoke. "Oh, and I found a few books from the medics' office and left them in my bag – they might have some information about the scroll you used."

"I also figured that this would be the most effective way to clean you, since the water might have soaked throughout your body, and it'd take a long time to dry," she rambled casually, moving the Q-tip towards his neck and back. She saw him flinch. "Sasuke-kun? Are you okay?"

Her brows tilted in question as Sasuke wasted no time with his reply.

"Aa. I just fell on my back a few times."

In disbelief that Sasuke hadn't mentioned his pain for the last hour or so that they were together, Sakura's lips parted. She stared at him with the same look she knew she always gave him whenever the two met, especially during their last few months together as teammates. Looks of worry which masked her weakness, untalented, crybaby self.

Upon thought, her fists clenched to fight every urge to cry at the awful memories of not being able to do anything for her team.

And now, with Sasuke in pain – even though he denied have serious injuries, which he almost always does – Sakura calmly changed her facial expression, hoping it would be difficult for the Uchiha to read her face.

She knew that _this_ time, she wouldn't make the same mistake of just standing there and doing nothing. With that thought in mind, she did the one thing she knew she was good at. "Lay down."

"What?"

"Lay down," she said whilst cleaning her hands under the tap and then drying it with a towel. "I'm going to heal you."

Knowing that he was staring at her with the dumbfounded look, she laid him down herself with a slight push of her fingers. Her thumb remained pressing against the stuff bear's abdomen to prevent him from escaping – which he was obviously trying to do. In the back of her mind, she still kept an eye out for any missed food stains on the fur.

"Sakura, it's not going to work– "

She didn't listen to him.

Centering her energy to the hand that laid on Sasuke's stomach, she recognized the green glow appear, smiling gently when he didn't react against it. Truthfully, she didn't know what she was healing. Rather, she was merely leaking out her chakra into the cotton filled body and waited until the moment Sasuke told her nothing was changing.

But he didn't say anything.

Of course, that served as a problem for Sakura. For one, she wasn't sure if Sasuke had passed out from all of the pain he endured that day or if she really was healing him. But if the latter was true, how long did she have to wait until she stopped her chakra flow? After all, to her, all it felt like was energy seeping out of her fingertips, and she couldn't analyze any of her works.

Her mouth, surprisingly (to her) kept shut as she continued her healing while staring at the dull eyes glued onto the toy. Ironic how they seemed so soulless now, when in comparison to when she first bought the toy bear, and Sasuke was still somewhere on the other side of the country, the black orbs sparkled so brightly.

"Sakura?"

Immediately, she snapped out of her daze.

"Oh, are you okay?" Fingers hesitantly lifted from his abdomen and eyes glued to him even as he pushed himself upright

"Aa."

"So... did it work?"

He didn't respond. Rather, he shook his arms, and proceeded to walk, leaping off of the counter and onto the floor.

"Hey, I'm talking to you!" She gingerly followed him through small steps, consistently telling herself not to step on the small object just a few feet ahead of her. "Sasuke – "

In his _you're-annoying-me-voice_ (or so Sakura believed, judging by the familiar tone he often used with her), he stopped his tracks and stated, "I don't know."

With a huff, Sakura crossed her arms confidently. "What do you mean? You were laying on that counter for almost," she paused to take an estimate, "two minutes before you reacted. And it's your body, shouldn't you be able to tell?"

Sakura scowled when he merely headed back towards her room.

"Show me that book you were talking about" He demanded, ignoring whatever words that had come out of her mouth. He pushed the door open (with both of his arms). "The one from the medics' office."

"But -"

"Look, I'm _fine._ Otherwise, I wouldn't be walking if I had a serious injury, now would I?"

Dropping her arms, Sakura grinned at the familiarity of having Sasuke around. She lazily pointed towards her bed. "I left it by my pillows. You can go ahead and read them." Then she turned back towards her bathroom. "I'm going to take a shower – it's been a _long_ day," she emphasized her words through the tone of her voice, but both of them knew that it was true.

Parting their ways, Sakura allowed her eyelids to fall slightly, only entering the bathroom based on the half of her vision and on instinct and memory. After shutting the door behind her, the young woman leaned her back against the door, completely turning off her vision from the world.

But before the medic could allow herself to succumb to her past, her hand reached for the lock, turning it with shaking hands. Her jaw began to tremble as her back no longer rested against the door frame.

Everything was happening too quickly, she thought, and something was telling her that her time with Sasuke would come to an end eventually. Not only that, but all of the memories of that morning had been haunting her since she saw the near empty cubby in the locker room.

She could easily recalled out panicked she was, how close to a break down she was. Never in her entire life had she rushed throughout the hospital so quickly, even during medical emergencies, only to feel like the happiest person there when she had snuck into the security room to look at video footage from cameras all around the hospital, and finding Sasuke with the young patient.

At this point, her heart was beating just as erratic as it was when she was when she searched the entire locker room, calling out for him, but Sakura's lips were pressed tightly together to muffle her cries.

Discarding her clothes, she turned the shower head on after. The rush of water seemed to zone out any outside noises, and she hoped that it would blur out inside noises as well. But instead of grabbing onto her shampoo bottle to sing a tune at the top of her lungs, or neatly folding the rug by the tub like she always did, she sat in a crouched position.

She tucked her head down between her knees, shielding her already wet face from the shower head's rain. With arms wrapped around her legs, she had formed a ball within the bathtub. Her eyes squeezed shut and she bit her lower lip – she knew the truth.

She knew that even after all of these years, after all of the sweat and blood, late nights and exhaustion to the point of collapsing, she could not allow Sasuke to see her weak side again. But she was also aware, as tear drops fell from her eyes, that she could keep her masquerade around him for as long as she could, and pretend to be strong and confident, but on the inside, she was still the twelve year old girl who believed in happy endings.

_Please don't leave us again, Sasuke-kun_.

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**A/N: **I know I said I would update in September, but I had so much homework, I was literally going home from school, start on homework and then finish everything by midnight or later.

**P.S.** if that last line seems romantic and all, it's _not_. Notice how she thinks, "don't leave **us**." So it's more of a friendship thing really. Besides, that's probably the last thing on Sakura's mind right now.

**Also!** I'd like to thank _all_ of you guys for your support. Especially your reviews - I was **amused** and **shocked** to find the number of responses that encouraged me to _torture Sasuke_.

And because I usually end in cliff hangers, but didn't for this, I think I'm going to add a small preview for the next chapter:

**Chapter 6 mini preview:**

Sasuke glared at the man at the doorway talking to Sakura. So _he_ was this mysterious neighbour that recognize her laundry basket.

XxXx

"Mom, I'm serious," Sakura said strictly. "Get your dog _away_ from my bear. _Now_."


End file.
